Feed mill

ABSTRACT

A feed mill comprising a housing having a feed grinding compartment provided therein with a grinding rotor rotatably mounted in the grinding compartment. A perforated screen extends around the rotor and has an inlet opening formed therein which is in communication with the discharge end of a conduit means. The inlet end of the conduit means is in communication with a hopper means which is in communication with a source of the feed to be ground. An auger means is provided in the conduit means and is adapted to convey the feed into the interior of the perforated screen so that it can be ground by the rotatable rotor therein. The rotor is comprised of a plurality of spaced apart grinding hammers which are staggered with respect to each other so as to provide a spiral configuration to the rotor. The rotating rotor means grinds the material and forces the same outwardly through the perforated screen into the grinding compartment. The ground feed is discharged from the grinding compartment by means of a discharge auger means extending therefrom.

ammo

opps et al. 1 Mar. 2, 1972 [54] FEED MILL Primary Examiner-Andrew R. Juhasz [72] Inventors: Harry A. Kopps, l 10 South Street; Assistant Exammeruoary Smith Howard E. Hull, 316 North Oak Street, both of Griggsville, 111. 82340 [22] Filed: Dec. 4, 1969 [2]] App]. No.: 882,006

[51] llnt. Cl. ..1302c 13/06, B02c 23/02, 865g 47/16 [58] Field of Search ..241/74, 79.2, 186, 191, 245,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,253,733 8/1941 Sheldon ..241/186 X 2,440,051 4/1948 Lind ...24l/l91 X 1,464,62l 8/1923 Kemp ..241/301 2,943,752 7/1960 Platt ..198/64 X 3,090,568 5/1963 Wetmore ...24l/19l X 3,498,548 3/1970 Gruendler ..241/186 A Attorney-Zarley, McKee & Thomte [5 7] ABSTRACT A feed mill comprising a housing having a feed grinding compartment provided therein with a grinding rotor rotatably mounted in the grinding compartment. A perforated screen extends around the rotor and has an inlet opening formed therein which is in communication with the discharge end of a conduit means. The inlet end of the conduit means is in communication with a hopper means which is in communication with a source of the feed to be ground. An auger means is provided in the conduit means and is adapted to convey the feed into the interior of the perforated screen so that it can be ground by the rotatable rotor therein. The rotor is comprised of a plurality of spaced apart grinding hammers which are staggered with respect to each other so as to provide a spiral configuration to the rotor. The rotating rotor means grinds the material and forces the same outwardly through the perforated screen into the grinding compartment. The ground feed is discharged from the grinding compartment by means of a discharge auger means extending therefrom.

6 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTEnmzs 1972 3.652 O20 sum 2 UF 2 5 al Wham FEED MILL Conventional feed grinding mills have limited capacities due to the arrangement of the grinding rotor and the perforated screens generally associated therewith. The conventional feed grinding mills employ perforated screens with a diameter of approximately 14 to 16 inches and the majority of the ground material is usually driven outwardly there through a particular portion of the screen. Additionally, the material is generally fed to only one portion of the screen. The utilization of only one portion of the screen'for input and discharge is a severe limitation upon the capacity of the mill. The design of the grinding rotors in the conventional feed grinding mills is such that a balance problem is usually encountered since these rotors tend to pick up the incoming material in slugs rather than in a uniform flow.

Therefore, it is a principal object of this invention to provide a feed grinding mill having a large capacity.

A further object of this invention is to provide a feed grinding mill including a rotor having spirally arranged grinding hammers which eliminates rotor balance problems.

A further object of this invention is to provide a feed grinding mill wherein the ground material is driven outwardly throughout the entire screen rather than one portion of the screen.

A further object of this invention is to provide a feed grinding mill wherein the feed is conveyed to the grinding rotor in a uniform manner.

A further object of this invention is to provide a feed grinding mill wherein the grinding hammers are uniformly utilized.

A further object of this invention is to provide a feed grinding mill especially well adapted for use in the feed mixing and grinding environment.

A further object of this invention is to provide a feed grinding mill which is economically manufactured, durable in use and refined in appearance.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the mill of this invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view as seen along lines 22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view as seen along lines 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a partial sectional view as seen along lines 44 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the conduit means employed in this invention.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the grinding rotor and the split screen which receives the same.

The feed mill of this invention is indicated by the reference numeral 10 and generally comprises a housing 12 having a feed mixing and metering apparatus 14 positioned thereon as shown in FIG. I. Housing 12 generally includes the bottom 16, front wall 18, back wall 20, side walls 22 and 24, and top 26. Front wall 18 has an access cover removably mounted thereon over access opening 31 by means of screws 32 while side wall 24 is removably mounted on the housing 12 by means of locking handles 34.

Housing 12 is provided with spaced apart wall members 36 and 38 which are secured to the inside surface offront wall 18 and which extend inwardly therefrom as illustrated in FIG. 2. Wall member 40 is secured to the inner ends of wall members 36 and 38 and extends therebetween parallel to front wall 18. A top wall member 42 is secured to the upper ends of wall members 36 and 40 and to the inside surface of front wall 18 to define a grinding compartment generally referred to by the reference numeral 44. The lower end of wall member 36 is provided with a circular opening 46 formed therein which is in communication with a discharge auger tube 48 extending outwardly therefrom through side wall 22. As seen in FIG. 3, an auger 50 rotatably extends through tube 48 and through grinding compartment 44. The shaft 52 of auger 50 rotatably extends through wall member 38 and is supported thereon by bearing 54. The inner end of shaft 52 has a sprocket 56 mounted thereon which receives a chain 58 extending therearound. As shown in FIG. 3, the numeral 60 indicates a vertically disposed wall member spaced from wall member 38 and having a top 62 extending from the upper end thereof.

Gear motor 64 is mounted on support 66 and has a power shaft 68 extending therefrom which has sprocket 70 and 72 secured to the opposite ends thereof. Chain 58 extends around sprocket 70 to provide driving power to shaft 52 of auger 50. Bearing 74 is operatively secured to support angle 76 and rotatably supports one end of a shaft 78 therein. Sprocket 80 is mounted on a shaft 78 and has chain 82 extending therearound. Chain 82 also extends around sprocket 72 to provide driving power to shaft 78. A vertically disposed hopper wall 84 extends upwardly from top 62 and is secured at its front edge to the inside surface of front wall 18 and secured at its back edge to hopper wall 86. An inclined hopper wall 88 is secured to the inside surface of front wall 18 and hopper wall 84 as shown in FIG. 2. Inclined hopper wall is secured to one end of hopper walls 86 and 88 and extends therebetween as illustrated in FIG. 2. Hopper walls 84, 86 and 88 and 90 define a hopper 92 which is adapted to receive the feed and/or supplements from the mixing and metering apparatus 14. The lower end of hopper 92 is open as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3.

The reference numeral 94 refers to a conduit means adapted to receive material from hopper 92 and adapted to direct the material to grinding compartment 44. Conduit means 94 comprises a tubular member 96 and a throat portion 98 extending from one end thereof. Tubular member 96 has an open upper end 100 which communicates with the lower end of hopper 92. Tubular member 96 also includes an end wall 102 having an opening 104 formed therein through which shaft 78 extends. A bearing 106 is mounted on end wall 102 to support shaft 78. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, shaft 78 extends through tubular member 96 into one end of throat portion 98 and has double auger flighting 108 thereon.

End 110 of throat portion 98 has a round configuration corresponding to the configuration of tubular member 96 but flares outwardly to an open rectangular end portion 112. As shown in the drawings, throat portion 98 comprises a horizontal top 114, inclined bottom 116 and sides 118 and 120. Channels 122 and 124 are secured to top 114 and bottom 116 respectively at the inner ends thereof as depicted in FIG. 5. As illustrated in FIG. 3, throat portion 98 extends inwardly through opening 126 formed in wall member 38 so that its end 1 12 is positioned within compartment 44.

Motor 128 is mounted on support 130 and has a drive shaft 132 rotatably extending inwardly into compartment 44. A plurality of spaced apart grinding hammers 134 are mounted on shaft 132 in compartment 44 in the spiral arrangement of FIGS. 2, 3 and 6 to define a grinding rotor 135. Each hammer 134 includes four hammer blades 136, 138, and 142. The blades of the hammers 134 are staggered with respect to the blades of the next adjacent hammer so that the rotor presents a spiral configuration. Hammers 134 are maintained on shaft 132 by nut 144.

A circular-like perforated screen 146 extends around the grinding hammers and has its opposite ends 148 and 150 slightably received in channels 122 and 124 respectively. Side edge 152 is positioned adjacent wall member 40 and side edge 154 is positioned adjacent the inside surface of access cover 30. Ring 154 is secured to wall member 40 and extends around the periphery of side edge 152 of screen 146 to maintain the screen in its proper position with respect to the rotor 135.

Preferably, screen 146 has an inside diameter of 8 inches and a length of 8 inches. Preferably, the diameter of rotor 135 is 7 and 36 inches which leaves a clearance of /s inch between the ends of the hammer blades and the inside surface of screen 146. The opening at end 1 12 of throat portion 98 is preferably 2 inches by 8 inches with the preferred diameter of tubular member 96 being 4 inches. Additionally, the preferred length of top 114 is 4 inches.

In FIG. 2, the numeral 156 refers to an electrical control box while the numeral 158 in FIG. 1 refers to a control panel for controlling the operation of the mixing and metering apparatus as well as the grinding apparatus.

In operation, various feeds, minerals, supplements, etc. would be contained in separate compartments in the hopper 160 of the apparatus 14. Hopper 160 would be operatively connected to a source of these materials. The control panel 158 is used to control the metering or mixing of the materials in the hopper 160 and would supply the same in a precise percentage to the hopper 92.

The material in hopper 92 is discharged from the lower end thereof into the interior of tubular member 96. The double flighting 108 on the rotating shaft 78 causes the material to be augered into the interior of throat portion 98 of the conduit means 94. The material is pushed upwardly through throat portion 98 which spreads the material uniformly therethrough so that the material is discharged from the open end 112 in a uniform manner and under uniform pressure. The material is introduced into the interior of screen 146 and into contact with the spirally arranged and rotating hammer blades 134. The spiral arrangement of the hammer blades 134 provides better balance for the rotor 135 since the rotor picks up the material along the entire 8 inch total length of the screen. The material is fed to the rotor along the entire length of the screen which increases the capacity of the mill. The spiral arrangement of the hammer blades causes the ground material to be driven outwardly through the screen throughout the entire area of the screen which greatly increases the capacity of the mill. The ground material which is driven outwardly through the screen 146 is conveyed from the compartment 44 by the flighting 162 and shaft 150.

In conclusion, the relationship of the tubular member 96, throat portion 98, with respect to the screen 146 and its relationship with the spirally arranged hammer blades provides a mill which has a far greater capacity than conventional mills. The relationship of the components identified above not only increases the capacity of the mill but also increases the efficiency of the mill. Thus it can be seen that the mill accomplishes at least all of its stated objectives.

We claim:

1. A feed mill comprising,

a housing having a feed grinding compartment therein,

a powered grinding rotor means rotatably mounted in said feed grinding compartment,

a perforated screen extending around said rotor means in a spaced relationship with respect thereto, said screen having a length substantially the same as the length of said rotor means, said screen having an inlet opening formed therein and extending the substantial length of the rotor,

a conduit means having inlet and discharge ends, said discharge end of said conduit means communicating with said inlet opening ofsaid screen,

a hopper means having a discharge end communicating with said inlet end of said conduit means,

a powered conveyor auger means in said conduit means for conveying feed material from said hopper means, through said conduit means and into the interior of said screen so that said rotor means can grind said material and force the ground material outwardly through said screen,

means for discharging the ground material from said compartment, said perforated screen extending completely around said rotor means except for said inlet opening formed therein, said rotor means and said screen being concentrically disposed so that the periphery of said rotor means is equally spaced from said screen, and

said conduit means comprising a tubular member having opposite ends and a throat portion extending from one of said ends of said tubular member, said tubular member having an open upper end which communicates with the lower end of said hopper means, said throat portion having first and second ends, said first end of said throat portion having a round configuration corresponding to the configuration of said tubular member, said throat portion including a top, first and second sides, and a bottom, said discharge end of said conduit means being at said second end of said throat portion, said top, bottom and sides of said throat portion defining a rectangular discharge opening in communication with said inlet opening of said screen.

2. The feed mill of claim 1 wherein said top and bottom of said throat portion each have a channel secured thereto which receive the spaced apart ends of said screen respectively.

3. The feed mill of claim 1 wherein said rectangular discharge opening has substantially the same length as the length of said inlet opening in said screen 4. The feed mill of claim 3 wherein said conveyor auger means is rotatably mounted in said tubular member and comprises double flighting spirally mounted on an auger shaft.

5. The feed mill of claim 1 wherein said rotor means comprises a plurality of spaced apart flat disc-like grinding hammers rigidly mounted on a rotatable shaft extending into said grinding compartment, each of said hammers including a central portion having a plurality of flat hammer blades extending radially outwardly therefrom, said blades being of integral one piece construction with respect to said central portion, said hammers being arranged on said shaft in a staggered relationship so as to define a spiral arrangement of said hammer blades, said blades of said hammers being offset with respect to the blades of the adjacent hammer so that the blades form a uniform spiral arrangement, said flat hammer blades being disposed in a plane transversely to the rotational axis of said rotatable shaft.

6. The structure of claim 1 wherein said bottom of said throat is inclined to extend upwardly from said one end of said tubular member and said top is horizontally disposed. 

1. A feed mill comprising, a housing having a feed grinding compartment therein, a powered grinding rotor means rotatably mounted in said feed grinding compartment, a perforated screen extending around said rotor means in a spaced relationship with respect thereto, said screen having a length substantially the same as the length of said rotor means, said screen having an inlet opening formed therein and extending the substantial length of the rotor, a conduit means having inlet and discharge ends, said discharge end of said conduit means communicating with said inlet opening of said screen, a hopper means having a discharge end communicating with said inlet end of said conduit means, a powered conveyor auger means in said conduit means for conveying feed material from said hopper means, through said conduit means and into the interior of said screen so that said rotor means can grind said material and force the ground material outwardly through said screen, means for discharging the ground material from said compartment, said perforated screen extending completely around said rotor means except for said inlet opening formed therein, said rotor means and said screen being concentrically disposed so that the periphery of said rotor means is equally spaced from said screen, and said conduit means comprising a tubular member having opposite ends and a throat portion extending from one of said ends of said tubular member, said tubular member having an open upper end which communicates with the lower end of said hopper means, said throat portion having first and second ends, said first end of said throat portion having a round configuration corresponding to the configuration of said tubular member, said throat portion including a top, first and second sides, and a bottom, said discharge end of said conduit means being at said second end of said throat portion, said top, bottom and sides of said throat portion defining a rectangular discharge opening in communication with said inlet opening of said screen.
 2. The feed mill of claim 1 wherein said top and bottom of said throat portion each have a channel secured thereto which receive the spaced apart ends of said screen respectively.
 3. The feed mill of claim 1 wherein said rectangular discharge opening has substantially the same length as the length of said inlet opening in said screen.
 4. The feed mill of claim 3 wherein said conveyor auger means is rotatably mounted in said tubular member and comprises double flighting spirally mounted on an auger shaft.
 5. The feed mill of claim 1 wherein said rotor means comprises a plurality of spaced apart flat disc-like grinding hammers rigidly mounted on a rotatable shaft extending into said grinding compartment, each of said hammers including a central portion having a plurality of flat hammer blades extending radially outwardly therefrom, said blades being of integral one piece construction with respect to said central portion, said hammers being arranged on said shaft in a staggered relationship so as to define a spiral arrangement of said hammer blades, said blades of said hammers being offset with respect to the blades of the adjacent hammer so that the blades form a uniform spiral arrangement, said flat hammer blades being disposed in a plane transversely to the rotational axis of said rotatable shaft.
 6. The structure of claim 1 wherein said bottom of said throat is inclined to extend upwardly from said one end of said tubular member and said top is horizontally disposed. 